Dumping body



' i Feb. 24, 1931. e. H. PERKINS ET AL 397949338 DUMPING BODY Filed Aug.26. 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 24, 1931. G. H. PERKINS ET AL DUMPINGBODY Filed Aug. 26, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 2 1931.

G. H. PERKINS ET AL DUMPING BODY Filed Aug. 26, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4Patented Feb. 24, 1 931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GEORGE HOWARDPERKINS, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, AND ROBERT C. SHOE- MAKER, OFPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS TO WARREN BROTHERS COMPANY, OFCAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA DUMPING BODYApplication filed August 26, 1930. Serial No. 477,860.

lated sections of such a body, if the sections are not coordinated'tocollapse progressively, any easy flowing or soft material, like rivermud or mixed wet concrete will slop over; or, if the material be stiffand of a coherent nature when compressed, as damp sand, clay or certainasphaltic mixtures, it will be compacted to such an extent inthe-expelling operationthat it will be difficult to handle afterunloading by reason of appearing on the deposited surface in largecompressed lumps.

It is the purpose of the present invention, therefore, to provide adumping body of the collapsible form so as to secure the advantagesresulting from maintaining the discharge end in its normally horizontalplane during the unloading operation; to provide for the progressiveclosing or collapsing of the sections, so that there may be no unduecompression of stiff material or slopping over of loose or easy flowingmaterial in the expelling operation; to provide each section, where itengages'an adjacent section, with means for scraping the bottom or floorand sides of that section to effectively remove any normally adherentparticles; to provide a collapsing means which is stationed at a fixedpoint on the vehicle by which the body is carried and which requires butthe minimum power for operation; and generally, to provide a dumpingbody of the collapsible form which is reduced to the simplestconstruction and which is, therefore, susceptible of cheap manufacture.

With this object in view, the invention consists in a construction andcombination of parts of which a preferred embodiment is illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the invention.

Figure 2 is a horizontal, longitudinal sectional view on the planeindicated by the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a transverse, vertical sectional view on the plane indicatedby the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Figure 4 is a vertical, longitudinal sectional view on the planeindicated by the line 44. of Fig. 2.

Figure 5 is a detail side elevational View of the body sections incollapsed position.

Figure 6 is an enlarged elevational view showing the latch member in itsintermediate position. v

Figure '7 is a detail sectional view of a modified form of constructionof the body sections. I

The invention comprises the relatively movable sections 20, so that thebody may be collapsed in expelling or discharging a contained load. Tocollapse the sections, it appears best that they be telescopicallyrelated and they are so disclosed,'all of the sections except the rearterminal section 20a, being movable longitudinally of the frame 21 ofthe vehicular apparatus on which the body is carried. While the framemay be mounted on caterpillar trucks, or any other devices which willpermit ready translation, it is illustrated as mounted on the wheels 22of which the forward pair are carried on .a pivoted truck 23, equippedwith a draft tongue 24 which may be for use either with draft animals,or for'connection to the draw-bar of a tractor or similar machine.

Each of the bodysections 20 consists of a U-s'haped member 25 and acorrespondingly shaped trough member 26, the trough member being madepreferably of sheet material of a character necessary to stand the usageto which the body is put and the U-shaped member of sturdy constructionto prevent distortion of the trou h member, its legs acting as uprightsfor t e trough member.

Beginning with the tail section 20a, the several body sections are ofprogressively increasing length, each trough member ex- 'ceeding inlength that of the next preceding section by an amount equal to thewidth of the legs of its U-shaped member 25, so that the rear endsof allmay lie in substantially the same vertical plane when the sections arecollapsed. Each trough member is supported at its forward end by itsU-shaped member and at its rear end lies in the trough member of thenext adjacent rear section, its rear edge being turned outwardly, asindicated at 27, to provide a marginal scraping edge intended to cleanthe walls and floor of said adjacent rear trough member of any adherentparticles when the body sections are collapsing. The troughs and the endgate are each held down into its fellow by a horizontally extendingmember 80 protruding from the top of the U-shaped member into which therespective trough shaped members slide.

The rear section 20a being stationary, with all the other sectionsmoving into it, no turned edge, such as the turned edge 27, isnecessary. Instead, it is provided with a tail gate 28 pivotallymounted, preferably at the upper end, as'indicated at 29, and equippedwith stepped latches 30 by which it may be latched in closed position orset to provide any degree of opening desired. 1 The tail section 20a isfixed in position by having its U-shaped member 25 secured directly tothe side rails 31 of the frame 21 and the movability of the remainingsections is secured by equipping their U-shaped members with rolls 32jonrnalled in the lower ends of the legs of the same and traversing therails 31. It is obvious that this construction provides for the movementof each of the body sections into the next adjacent rear section andwhen the sections are fully collapsed or telescoped they will be allnested one within the other and the contents of the body will have beenfully discharged with the exception of that in the extreme forwardsection whose contents is displaced by the head gate 33 which is movablerelative to said forward section.

If the collapsing or telescoping of the sections be not so arranged thatthey will successively nest, beginning with the section next adjacentthe rear section 20a, the collapsing may begin at the center, at theforward end, or at any other point, and, if the contained load be of aloose or non-coherent character, it may be forced over the sides of thebody rather than ejected from the rear section, or if it be of a stiffor coherent nature, it may be unduly compressed before ejection. Also ifthe collapsing or telescoping of the sections is not controlled toinsure successive nesting and collapsing be ins adjacent or ahead of thecenter of the ody, all of that portion of the load to the rear of thepoint of initial collapse will have to be moved relative to andthroughout the extent of the uncollapsed sections. If the sectionscollapse in sequence as provided for in the construction disclosedherein, the rear section is first cm tied, then the next and so on inorder until t e final or forward section is emptied by the movement ofthe'head gate, and under such conditions the frictional resistanceresulting from the ejection of the load exists only in that sectionbeing discharged.

The successive order of collapse of the sections calls for locking thesections against relative movement and releasing them in order, so thatthere may be no relative movement except between the section beingdischarged and the remaining sections. The present invention providesmeans for the accomplishment of this function and the illustratedembodiment of such means consists of latch members 34 carried onopposite sides of each section (except the section next adjacent thetail section 20a) where they are pivotally mounted on the U-shapedmember or frame of that section. The latch members are notched, asindicated at 35, adjacent the ends opposite the pivotal connections andthese notches constitute seats in which the lugs 36 engage, thecooperating lug of each latch member being positioned on the U- shapedframe or member of the next adjacent rcar section. Thus when the lugs 36are engaged in the seats 35 of the associated latch members, the twosections carrying these two parts are locked against relative movement.

To provide for releasing the members and thus releasing the latchedsections, as the whole are advanced toward the rear sec- .tion, themembers are provided with inclined noses 37 engageable with trip blocks38, the

trip block for any member being positioned on the frame of that sectionnext tothe rear of the section carrying the latch lug 36 for thatmember. But the trip blocks 38 also have an additional function which isto act as limi.ing stops in the extension of adja: cent sections, eachlatch member having an abutment lug 39 engageable in the seat 40 formedin its associated block 38. Any pair of latch members 34 cooperate withthe trip blocks 38 on the next adjacent rear section to that on whichthey are carried, in limiting the extensions of the section, butcooperate with the trip blocks on the section next to the rear of thatwhen the tripping or releasing funcion is being performed.

The lugs 36 and blocks 38 on any section act as guides for the latchmembers of the next preceding section, and in order that the members maybe insured engaging the lugs 36, they are provided on their upper edgeswith flat springs 41 which, in the extended positions of the sections,bear against the under sides of the blocks 38 and yieldingly impel thelatch members towards the lugs 36 to insure depression of the memberswhen 5 ed, or to the front, if they are collapsed.

Since the section 20 next adjacent the rear the notches shall haveregistered with the The head gate 33 is controlled with respect to theforward section, just as they are with respect to each other, its latchmembers 34 being mounted on a cross head 42 consisting of a U-shapedframe or member 25 and suitable bracing between it and the head gate.The bracing serves to impart the force applied to the U-shaped framedirect to the head gate and .also serves as a spacer between it and theU-shaped frame, so that the head gate may he moved through the fullextent of the forward section when the latch members of the head gateare released.

The actuating means for collapsing the sections consists of side chains43 trained over rear sprockets 44 rotatably mounted on the U-shapedmember 25 of the rear section 20a, these chains being also trained overfor ward sprockets 45 mounted on the ends of the counter-shaft 46 towhich motion is communicated, as by a motor 47 through a conventionalreducing gear 48. The motor 47 is suitably supported from the vehicleframe, as is also the counter shaft 46. The chains 43 are anchored, asat 49, to the lugs of the U-shaped member of the cross head 42, so

that this will move as the chain moves, the direction depending on thedirection of rotation of the sprockets 45. The motor is of thereversible order and movement may thus be communicated to the chains toadvance the body sections to the rear, if they are extendsection 20a, isintended to be the first section to move in the dumping operation, nolatch members for that section are provided, but it is necessary toprovide a limiting stop in the extending operation and this is in theform of an abutment 50 carried by the vehicle frame and engageable witha pendent stop 51 on the transverse portion of the U-shaped frame 25 ofthis section. The U-shaped member 25 of the rear section carries theblocks 52 on its legs to perform the tripping function for the latchmembers of the first body section to be released, which is the second ofthe movable sections.

To protect the latch members and their attendant parts, as well as todeflect the material into the body when being loaded, laterally inclinedguard plates 53 are provided, these extending the full length of-thebody on either side, and being supported on standards 54 spaceduniformly along the frame and se cured thereto.

Assuming the body to be in extended position, to have been loaded andthe time to have arrived when it is desired to discharge the load. Thetail gate 28-is opened the desired degree by the setting of the steppedlatches 30, after which the expulsion of the load is in order. The motor47 is then started, its direction of rotation being such that the lowerruns of the chains43 will move rearwardly. The several movable bodysections will then be carried rearwardly, no relative movement betweenthem being possible by reason of the engagement of the latch memberswith their respective lugs 36. Since there is no rigid connectionbetween the rear section 20a and the next adjacent section, the latteris moved into the rear section and the contents of that section ejectedthrough the tail gate opening. When this portion of the load shall havebeen fully expelled, the latch members 34 of the next adjacent sectionwill have reached. the trip blocks 52 which will result in disengagingthem from their attendant lugs 36 so that the next adjacent section tothe forward may be moved into the preceding section, ejecting thecontents thereof. This sequence of operations continues, as the chainsmove, until the head gate is finally released when the contents of thefront section are ejected by it, being forced through the front section,through the instrumentality of the crosshead with which the actuatingchains, are connected. Thus when the body is completely emptied of itscontents, the several sections will all be in nested relation with theirU-shaped frames in abutting relation.

The movement of the sections into extended position is effected byreversing the direction of rotation-of the motor 47, consequentlychanging the direction of travel of the chains .43. It is of noconsequence whether the sections be extended in successive order or not,but the forward movement of the lower runs of the chains will operate toapply a pulling force through their connections with the cross-head andthe several sections including the head gate will be drawn out andlatched in their extended positions as the lugs 39 on the latch membersengage the seats in the trip blocks and the latch members are forceddown by their springs to engage the notches 35 with the lugs 36. I f

In the modification illustrated in Figure 7, the turning of the edges ofthe trough members to provide scrapers is omitted and the scrapingfunction secured through the employment of angles 55 attached on theouter surfaces of the trough members with the edges of their shorterlegs disposed in scraping relation each with the inner surface of thetrough member of the connected section. This construction provides arelatively wide space between the troughmembers of adjacent sections andthe construction is employed therefor, at some sacrifice in capacity ofthe body but has the advantage'that it re-' duces the likelihood ofsticking of the sections, as there is less chance of them becomingjammed by the entrance of foreign matter, as might be the case wherethey are in close sliding relation.

In this modified construction, the stops here with the lugs 39.

limiting the extended positions-of the sections may be placed to engagethe angles 55, such stops being in the form of blocks 56 disposed on thetransverse portions of the U- shaped frames, of the sections forengagement each with the angle of the companion section. The use of thestop blocks 56 avoids the necessity for forming the latch mem- Theinvention having been described, what is claimed as new and useful is 1.A dumping body comprising a plurality of telescoping sections, and meansfor collapsing the sections in dumping a contained load, said meanscomprising operative connections between the sections to positivelymaintain extension of the same and automatic means to release saidoperative con nections to positively effect collapsing of the sectionsin a predetermined order.

2. A dumping body comprising a plurality of telescoping sections, andmeans for collapsing the sections in dumping a contained load, saidmeans comprising operative connections between the sections topositively maintain extension of the same and automatic means to releasesaid operative connections to positively effect collapsing of thesections in succession.

3. A dumping body comprising a plurality of telescoping sections, meansfor collapsing the sections in dumping a contained load, and elementsefiecting substantially rigid connection between the sections butreleasable by the sections themselves to effect collapsing of thesections in the order in which said elements are released.

4. A dumping body comprising a plurality of telescoping sections, meansfor collapsing the sections in dumping a contained load, and elementseffecting substantially rigid connection between the sections butautomatically releasable to efiect collapsing of the sections in theorder of release of said elements.

' 5. A dumping body comprising a plurality of telescoping collapsiblesections, means for collapsing the sections in dumping a contained load,elements effecting substantially rigid connection between the sections,and

means for automatically releasing said elements in progressive order toeflect the progressive collapsing of the sections.

6. A dumping body comprising a plurality of telescopically relatedsections, latching means to maintain the extended relation of thesections, and means for collapsing the sections, the latching meansbeing releasable by the sections themselves to insure the collapsing ofthe sections in the order of release of the latching means.

7. A dumping body comprising a plurality of telescopically relatedsections, latching means for maintaining the extended relation of thesections, means for collapsing the sections, and section actuated meansfor releasing the latching means in sequence to insure the correspondingcollapse of the sections.

8. A dumping body comprising a plurality of telescopically relatedsections, latching means for maintaining the extended relation of thesections, means for collapsing the sections, and means for automaticallyreleasing the latching means in sequence to insure the correspondingcollapse of the sections.

9.. A dumping body comprising a plurality of telescopically relatedsections, latching means for positively maintaining the extendedrelation of the sections, section actuated tripping means to release thelatch means, and means for collapsing the sections.

10. A dumping body comprising a plurality of telescoping relatedsections, latch members for maintaining the extended relation of thesections, means for collapsing the sections, and section actuated meansfor releasing the latch members in a predetermined order to effect acorresponding collapsing of the sections.

11. A dumping body comprising a plurality of telescopically relatedsections of which one terminal sect-ion is anchored, elements formaintaining the extended relation of the remaining sections, means foradvancing said remaining sections into the anchored section, and sectionactuated means for tripping said elements in' an order todetermine theorder of advance of said remaining sections into the anchored section.

12. A dumping body comprising a plurality of telescopically relatedsections of which one terminal section is anchored, means for advancingthe remaining sections into the anchored section, means for maintainingthe extended relation of said remaining sections, I

and means for automatically releasing the last said means in successiveorder to correspondingly insure the advance of said remaining sectionsinto the anchored section.

13. A dumping body comprising a plurality of telescopically relatedsections of which one terminal section is anchored, means for advancingthe remaining sections into the anchored section, latch memberspivotally mounted on some of the sections and engageable with lugs onadjacent sections for maintaing the extended relation of said sections,and means for tripping said latch members in successive order.

14. A dumping body comprising a plural ity of telescopically relatedsections of which one terminal section is anchored, means for choredsection, latch members pivotallymounted on some of the sections andengageable with lugs on adjacent sections for maintaining the extendedrelation of said sections, and trip blocks carried by the sections and 1engageable with the latch members to release a succeeding section aseach section enters the anchored section.

16. A dumping body comprising a plurality of telescopically relatedsections of which one terminal section is anchored, means for advancingthe remaining sections into the anchored section, latch memberspivotally mounted on some of the sections and engageable with lugs onadjacent sections for maintaining the extended relation of saidsections, and trip blocks carried by the sections and engageable withthe latch members to release a succeeding section as each section entersthe anchored section, the g5 latch members bein provided withprojections abutting the trip blocks to act as limiting stops in theextended positions of the sections.

17. A dumping body comprising a pluralo ity of telescopically relatedsections of which one terminal section is anchored, a head gate movableof the forward section, latching means positively maintaining theextended relation of the remaining sections and the position of the headgate at the front end of the'forward section, actuating meansoperatively connected with the head gate for advancing said remainingsections into the anchored section, and means for successively 40trlpping the latch members to release the sections in order and tofinally release the head gate.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures. GEORGE HOWARD PERKINS.

ROBERT C. SHOEMAICER.

